The French government is backing a draft law based on the idea that "hatred" of Israel is inseparable from hatred of the Jewish people. Critics of the “Yadan law” warn the new legislation will not just muzzle legitimate criticism of Israel but could further fuel anti-Semitism in France.
Issued on: 04/04/2026 - 09:07
Modified: 04/04/2026 - 11:44
French lawmakers are on April 16 set to vote on a government-backed draft law based on the idea that rising anti-Semitism in the country with Europe’s largest Jewish population is grounded in an “obsessive” hatred of Israel.
The legislation has been drafted and redrafted since it was first introduced to the National Assembly at the end of 2024. Earlier drafts would have outlawed any comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany as "trivialising" the Holocaust and banned public speech calling for the ill-defined "denial" of a state's existence.
